Hello, everyone! This is me again, with the new and hopefully better version of this story. I have corrected most of my mistakes but if you do find some, please review and tell me and I'd be most welcome to change it again. If it doesn't make any sense, like the previous one of this, I'll try and make it easier for everyone. Thank you!

Also to mention, this story is NOT an AU. I know things may seem incorrect but you'll see why at the end of this story. ^.^

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from The Hobbit, otherwise, there'd be some girls in the company. o.O Females usually spice things up anyway. I own three OC's, Lara and two others of which will come to the story soon enough.

Oh, and who watched the new Hobbit movie!? Don't worry, when I originally wrote this, An Unexpected Journey just came out on DVD so there's no Desolation of Smaug spoilers in this story! xD

Thank you for reading!

"Talking." Thinking.

Erebor's dull, stone walls were glinting in the warm pools of sun-rays. It was unusual for Erebor to glow, even though it was always bathed in warm daylight. Usually, the Dwarf kingdom would be chilly inside and out, but they learned how to heat themselves up and adapted to the cold. Only some could stand the warmth. But on a day like today, almost all Dwarrow were outside, attempting to relax in the torrid weather.

One young Dwarf in particular couldn't stand the heat. While everyone else was sitting up high in the kingdom, enjoying the tight air, he was sitting shut up in his chambers, reading a book.

The black ink was always so precise and thin on the thin paper that he could read it swiftly. He was surrounded a pile of books, some read, half-read, skimmed and untouched. Dwarves were meant for their slowness…but not this Dwarf.

He heard his elder brothers chanting upstairs for him to come out, their rattling boots thundering overhead. The Dwarf just sighed and closed his book, staring at the floor.

When is it going to happen? Something interesting? he thought. A sigh slid from his lips and he just got to his feet, opening his chamber door, and entering the gloom.

"Better being with company than rather without," he told himself. With a grin, Ori stumbled blindly in the darkness to get any source of new sunlight.

Lara stumbled through the pitch black scene, catching her foot again on something. Her body crashed to the stone ground, and she lay limp for a while, trembling with fury. This was all Kíli's fault. She knew never to talk to him. But then again, she didn't expect anything less from him. Being friends since children with him had its ups but downs too. After all, he was the nephew of a prince.

Gripping her sore jaw, she moved again, feeling for the walls by her sides. What was Kíli doing? She was going to kill him. Some footsteps echoed against the cold stone ahead. Lara felt her eyes grow hard, mad.

"Kíli!" she said, trying to make her voice sound fierce, but was smaller than a squeak. "If that's you-"

Lara didn't continue. Breaking into a run, she knew she was going to kill her friend.

The young Dwarf was still slowly walking, trying not to trip as he always did. His boots that he had had for a while were still too big for him. After turning a few corners, he fell over, bruising his knees. Standing up, he blinked in the blank and desolate darkness. Then, he knew he was lost.

"Well done, Ori," he mumbled to himself. He had been so native and well-known to the underground tunnels of where he lived, and now, he was as lost as a Dwarfling who had run away from its mother.

He heard a faint voice slip past the empty aura, making him freeze. Only Ori lived around these parts. Who else would be here? The voices dissolved into the empty air, and he tried to relax. Then, he continued staggering, shrugging off any fear. It returned like lightning as a running object slammed into him.

Lara was expecting a hard, strong body to ram into – Kíli's body. She could imagine him laugh and ruffle her hair, but keep upright. Then, she would scold him and hit him but laugh all the same and they would find their way out, before doing something else.

What she was not expecting, was to knock down a limp build of a Dwarf, both of them yelping.

She lay, frozen, on top of a body that she had thrown down. What was going on? Low moans were escaping his lips.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked, trying to remain calm. "Are you alright?"

Panic set in as she thought he was dead, if she had accidentally hit his head off the stone ground, but then she felt his head jerk to one side.

"No," came the answer. It definitely wasn't Kíli. A young Dwarf was the sound of his voice. "Excuse me, could you please get off me? I'm losing air."

Heat flew to her face as she clambered off him. What was she thinking? Running into a total stranger and then just sitting on top of him. After hearing him wheeze in relief, she froze.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked again, standing up along with him. Humiliated, she lost her balance, wobbled forward and tried to regain balance by gripping something. His arm. "Sorry." She staggered back, feeling her face grow embarrassed.

Then, she waited for his response.

Ori shrugged off this intruder, feeling rather mortified. Who is this person? he thought, irked. What is he doing? This Dwarf he ran into was rather small, so he suspected a Dwarfling perhaps, fooling about. How annoying. He gave a low grumble, before turning on his heel and stomping off, leaving the other being to tremble. He had left this Dwarf in the darkness, and he could feel him tremble violently. "Please… Don't leave me all alone."

You're not serious, Ori though in exasperation. First, I'm humiliated by a Dwarfling, and now he's pleading for me not to go.

The ginger debated with himself whether he should be kind and help the lost child out. This option would waste valuable time but he would feel better afterwards. Another option was to just to leave the Dwarfling by itself, leaving him to find its own way out.

After a few hesitating moments, he made his mind, walking back to the Dwarfling.

"There's no need to be a baby," Ori said, quite harsh for his usual self. His arm locked around roughly on the other Dwarf's arm. It was thinner than how he imagined it, and he froze, when he realised.

He was talking to a girl.

I know what you're thinking. "Pretty lame, right?" First chapters are usually there for explanations so sorry - no enormous wars and death and blood and romance for you. xD

Thanks again!